16 Batticaloa Tamils arrested within last 100 days at Colombo airport

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 May 2015, 17:36 GMT]The Sri Lankan ‘Terrorist’ investigation division has arrested at least 16 Tamil men from Batticaloa district at Katunayake International Airport within the past 100 days of the so-called good governance of the new SL regime in Colombo, Tamil rights activists in Batticaloa said. The arrests have been made under the notorious Emergency Regulations. But, the visiting foreign diplomats like the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, have been blindly appreciating the Sri Lankan government for ‘good governance’ in the island, the activists said. The detentions were isolated events without any relationship to each other, they said.

Almost all the victims were ex-LTTE members who had undergone SL military ‘rehabilitation’ and released earlier.

The arrests take place when they return after working abroad at Middle Eastern countries, the sources said.

The arrested Tamil men are being detained at Boosa, Magazine and Welikade detention camps, the activists said.

In the meantime, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian Pon Selvarasa told journalists in Batticaloa that he had requested Sri Lankan Minister of Public Order to release all the Tamils who have been subjected to long-term detention of the TID.

Mr Selvarasa also confirmed that there were around 16 Tamils arrested at separate incidents at the International Airport in Colombo within the last 100 days.

The TNA has come under severe criticism for not having secured immediate release of all Tamil prisoners.